From where Robin Van Gyn is sitting, we’re in a “special moment in time” for women’s snowboarding, specifically when it comes to backcountry riding.
And if anyone has the perspective to trace the progression of women’s snowboarding, it’s Van Gyn, who has been pushing boundaries in the sport for more than two decades.
Van Gyn is the visionary behind Research and Development (RnD), the first-ever all-women backcountry snowboarding contest, which just wrapped up its second iteration after debuting in March 2024.
The invite-only event was created to give women of all levels a chance to film and compete in the backcountry and to serve as a stepping stone into high-level competition. To wit, on the line for the winning rider is an automatic berth to the Natural Selection Tour (NST), Travis Rice’s premier big-mountain competition that debuted in 2021 and combines freestyle and freeride elements.
With its big-name sponsors and large prize purse, NST has provided important opportunities for elite big-mountain riders, especially women, who historically haven’t been given the same support as men in this discipline—whether it’s earning parts in films, being signed to teams or earning competition invites.
And yet, even as it enters its fifth year, NST doesn’t have equal men’s and women’s fields. This year, eight women and 16 men will compete in the Revelstoke event—and two of the women who will compete came out of RnD, underscoring how important the contest has already become in its short existence.
“We’re still seeing unequal numbers in the bigger contests, and that’s not okay with me,” Van Gyn told me. “That’s where this all started; I want to see equal numbers of men and women competing in NST. But RnD is more about shining a spotlight on these riders than about proving anything—showing the industry and people watching women’s sports what these athletes are capable of.”
Sixteen riders were invited to compete in RnD last weekend at Whitewater Ski Resort in Nelson, British Columbia. After two on-mountain filming days, the women competed in a jam-style contest with a $10,000 prize purse on the line, as well as the coveted NST berth.
Athletes included reigning RnD champion Ellery Manning; X Games Aspen 2025 street style gold medalist Iris Pham; Katie Kennedy; Ellie Weiler; Emma Crosby; Mia Jones; Marissa Krawczak; Billy Pelchat; Egan Wint; Estelle Pensiero; Emilé Zynobia; Izzi Gomez; Cali Loeb; local Nelson rider Eva Van Vugt; Finnish Olympic medalist Enni Rukajärvi; four-time Olympian and 2013 X Games slopestyle silver medalist Sarka Pancochova, who locked her RnD spot through competing in NST’s Duels process; and Celia Petrig, who earned an RnD invite through the Arc’teryx Academy.
The judging panel, which included pro snowboarders Kimmy Fasani, Hana Beaman, Van Gyn and Marie-France Roy, was a fount of valuable experience and guidance for the women competing at RnD.
While some of the women at RnD are just starting out, many come from competitive freestyle backgrounds and are elite-level riders. But navigating the backcountry is about so much more than what you do on your board.
Riders must undergo avalanche safety training and carry the associated gear, including a beacon, shovel and probe and often an airbag; learn how to read rugged terrain and consider factors like elevation gain, slope angles, cliffs and crevasses; and understand snowpack characteristics and weather patterns.
In competition, riders who come from a freestyle background must master their powder board setup and technique, including how to drop cliffs and ensure their run isn’t ended by their own sluff.
“The riding aside, it’s knowing what is gonna be flat, what’s gonna sluff, you’re gonna whiteroom yourself here, you’re gonna have extra speed going through this feature—all those little things,” Van Gyn said. “The mentorship becomes really important. It’s a unique time where there’s enough women with enough experience to be able to do that. It’s super special.”
Even the returning 2024 RnD competitors were taking the newbies under their wing, Van Gyn said, even showing them the exact lines they had taken in competition and sharing their impressions of the course. That spirit of camaraderie—over competitiveness—is one reason Van Gyn knows the future of women’s snowboarding is bright.
After a brief competitive freestyle career, Van Gyn moved to Whistler, where she started to spend more time in the backcountry. During Canada’s summers, she followed the snow to Argentina, where she became a guide for South American Snow Sessions (SASS).
In 2019, Van Gyn noted a sea change in women’s backcountry snowboarding. That year, Full Moon debuted, a two-year film project featuring all women snowboarders, including Van Gyn, riding big-mountain terrain in British Columbia, Alaska and Europe.
“Full Moon inspired that younger generation to get out and get in the backcountry,” Van Gyn said. “They hadn’t really seen it all compiled in one place before. It was so well done, and it was undeniable.”
“Before Full Moon, we were all fighting each other for the one spot [for a woman snowboarder] that was available in the bigger movies,” Van Gyn added. “We didn’t even try to get on teams, like, ‘Oh, they have a girl, I won’t be able to get on that team.’ It created a competitiveness amongst ourselves, and at one point we just looked at each other like, ‘What are we doing? There’s space for all of us.’
“And that’s kind of what now is happening with RnD. We’re not all trying to get into Natural Selection. We’re all showing up to RnD, we have more space, and in that space we can learn and progress and elevate to the elite level of snowboarding, and there’s room for everyone.”
A rising tide lifts all boats: women’s snowboarding is growing at a rapid pace alongside women’s sports more broadly. Per Deloitte, women’s elite sports generated more than $1 billion in 2024 for the first time ever. In action sports, 2024 saw the historic debut of female mountain bikers competing alongside men in Red Bull Rampage, as well as the first time female alpine skiers raced the iconic Birds of Prey course along with their male counterparts.
Sponsors have been eager to ride the wave. RnD is presented by Arc’teryx and Yeti, with supporting sponsors including Burton, Jones, Tribute, the Adventure Hotel, Nelson and Kootenay Lake Tourism, the Natural Selection Tour and Whitewater Ski Resort.
“Brand partners have budgets carved out to put towards women’s visibility and women’s participation; there’s an enormous market there that’s been ignored for so long,” Van Gyn said. “We’re starting to see people open their eyes to what’s possible. We’re just over the moon about the amount of support we’re getting. We’re gonna use that to enhance the riders’ experience and enhance the contest, and it’s all going back to the riders.”
Pancochova took first place at RnD, earning $5,000 and clinching her NST entry. Pensiero took second and a $3,000 prize, and Jones came in third, earning $2,000, for a total prize purse of $10,000.
Special awards included:
- Air Chair Award: Enni Rukajärvi
- Seal Team 69 Sender Award: Eva Van Vugt
- Mountain Goat Award: Marissa Krawczak
- Style Award: Ellie Weiler
- Very Proper Award: Billy Pelchat
- The House Award: Egan Wint
“I got a wild card into RnD [in 2024], and it was like nothing I’ve ever done before,” Manning told me. “And I ended up winning, which was pretty insane. Going into it I was like, I just want to be able to prove myself.”
Last year, Manning was just graduating high school and preparing to attend the University of Utah, so she wasn’t snowboarding much. “It was a 180 flip,” she said. “I would not be in this boat without RnD. It totally changed everything and was such a turning point.”
You can see Manning and Pancochova compete at the NST event in Revelstoke next week, which will be live streamed from the backcountry—a technical feat in and of itself—on Red Bull TV. The weather window runs from March 10 to 17.
“I think we’re gonna see a really big spike in backcountry performance participation,” Van Gyn said. “There’s gonna be a lot of progression in the next few years.”